The Continuing War on Yellow Fever

May 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits the yellow fever virus from one person to another. Control of the mosquito greatly aids control of the disease. Image courtesy of the US CDC.

Mosquito abatement programs pioneered by William Gorgas in Cuba and Panama led to immediate relief from yellow fever. Later, his discoveries played a major role in WWII, and still help with control of the disease today. We have a vaccine, developed by Max Theiler, but there is still no cure and outbreaks occur.

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